by Catalina Camia, USA TODAY

by Catalina Camia, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON - Retired astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, recently purchased an assault weapon to make a point about the ease of background checks for gun owners.

In an interview with CNN on Monday, Kelly said his experience highlights the availability of such weapons. "It is a pretty easy thing to do," he said about buying the military-style firearm.

Kelly announced Friday on his Facebook page that he bought an AR-15, one of the 157 military-style weapons that would be banned under a bill pending before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The panel is set to consider three gun bills Tuesday, including the proposed assault weapons ban authored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

He told CNN that he wanted "firsthand knowledge" of gun issues. Kelly said he plans to buy a weapon at a gun show and to sell a weapon and will write about those experiences as well.

"Even to buy an assault weapon, the background check only takes a few minutes," Kelly said on Facebook. "Scary to think of people buying guns like these without a background check at a gun show or the Internet. We really need to close the gun show and private seller loophole."

Kelly, a retired Navy captain, and Giffords are both gun owners who have been outspoken about the need for new gun-control measures. Americans for Responsible Solutions, their super PAC, has been running ads featuring Giffords that tout the proposed assault weapons ban and universal background checks.

Kelly said on his Facebook page and in the TV interview that he plans to give the AR-15 to the Tucson Police Department when he receives the weapon. He said he will keep a .45-caliber handgun he purchased at the same time.

Giffords was shot in the head in January 2011 in a Tucson rampage that left six people dead. President Obama and others have pushed for new gun legislation in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., in December that left 20 students and six of their educators dead.